Two-Decade Milestone: Future of Memory and Storage Opens 2026 Call for Papers and Demos

FMS asks the field to bring fresh ideas as it celebrates 20 years

The Future of Memory and Storage (FMS) conference has opened its call for presentations for the 2026 event as it marks its 20th anniversary. Organizers said they want forward-looking work that shows where memory, storage and data architecture are headed — from new hardware designs to system-level software and real-world deployments.

This year’s announcement frames the program as a moment for the community to reflect on two decades of progress and to push the next wave of innovation. The organizers emphasized practical results and concrete plans that can influence product road maps, data-center design and cloud services.

Why the conference still matters to engineers, vendors and data teams

FMS has grown from a small technical meeting to a go-to place where researchers, product teams and architects trade ideas that later show up in servers, SSDs, memory modules and system software. The conference sits where hardware meets software — a space that matters because advances in memory and storage affect how fast applications run, how much data companies can keep online, and how efficient data centers become.

For people who design systems, a new memory technology or data-management technique can change hardware specs, cost models and software choices across an industry. For startups and vendors, strong exposure at FMS can lead to partnerships, pilot projects and sometimes early customers. That combination of technical depth and real-world impact is why the anniversary is not just ceremonial: it’s a chance to gather ideas that will shape the next five years of systems engineering.

What the program committee is looking for: topics, formats and priorities

Organizers say they want submissions that address practical problems as well as bold new concepts. Topic areas called out for the 2026 program include memory technologies, persistent storage, storage-class memory, filesystems and object stores, data fabrics, software stacks that bridge hardware and applications, and system-level designs for cloud and edge computing.

Submissions can take several forms: peer-reviewed technical papers, tutorials, panel proposals, short talks, posters and live demos. The committee favors work that includes measured results, reproducible experiments or deployments rather than purely speculative presentations. Case studies that show how a new approach performed in production environments are also highlighted as high value.

The selection process will focus on technical merit and practical relevance. Organizers said a blind peer-review will decide paper acceptances, while panels and demos will be evaluated by an advisory board for balance and audience interest. The program will aim for a mix of academic, industry and startup voices, and the committee plans to prioritize sessions that show cross-discipline collaboration — for example, a hardware innovation paired with a software stack that makes it usable.

Who should submit and what presenters can gain

FMS is pitched at people who build or evaluate systems: chip and memory designers, storage vendors, cloud and data-center engineers, systems software teams, and researchers studying new architectures. Startups with prototypes, vendors with early customer data, and groups with practical deployment lessons are all encouraged to apply.

Presenters gain a concentrated audience of decision-makers and technologists. For many contributors, a strong talk or demo at FMS has led to pilot projects, investment interest or design wins. The program also offers networking opportunities that tend to be more technical and product-focused than what you find at general industry trade shows.

Dates, format and how to send your proposal

The organizers expect the 2026 conference to combine in-person sessions with virtual elements to reach a wide audience. Exact event dates and the final format will be announced on the conference web page. The call for presentations is now open, and submission templates and guidelines are available from the program office.

Proposers should prepare an abstract and any required accompanying materials according to the listed formats. Demos typically require a short description plus logistics notes about what equipment will be needed. Panel proposals should list participants and suggested questions to guide the discussion.

Organizer comment and press contact information

“We want submissions that are grounded in real systems work and that help the community move from ideas to deployments,” an FMS spokesperson said in the announcement. “As we mark 20 years, we’re especially keen to hear work that bridges hardware and software and shows measurable results.”

For press and program questions, the conference provided a central contact address and a program office email for submissions. The announcement was released by the Future of Memory and Storage conference on Dec. 15, 2025.

Sources

• prnewswire.com